First Minister Alex Salmond was said last night to be �very critical and very angry� about the belated action against predatory share targeting that contributed to the downfall of HBOS.

ROBBIE DINWOODIE and JULIA HORTON

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond was said last night to be "very critical and very angry" about the belated action against predatory share targeting that contributed to the downfall of HBOS.

"It is certainly arguable that if actions had been taken much more quickly we could be sitting on a very different situation today. We are very critical and very angry about that," said a senior aide.

However, Mr Salmond was reluctant to join the chorus of those condemning the pay-out of up to £2m in share options to HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby, with a spokesman saying of yesterday's meeting by ministers: "This was not discussed. We are basing our position on HBOS being, as the Financial Services Authority put it, a properly run company that had done nothing wrong, giving the bank a clean bill of health.

"Our job is to lead efforts to save jobs, not run the business down."

Hopes grew yesterday that workers in Scotland might escape the worst of the job cuts in the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.

Lloyds TSB Scotland chief executive Susan Rice denied that the takeover would inevitably lead to thousands of compulsory redundancies north of the border.

Stressing that fears might prove to be unfounded she said: "Everyone needs to keep in mind that the vast majority of staff in any bank are customer-facing.

"If we bring two banks together, we bring together the customer bases, and we still need all those staff to deal with our customers."

She added: "I believe that we will have head office functions happening here, the group's AGM will continue to take place here.

"The Mound will be kept open, we have had a lot of decision-making here, we have been a subsidiary bank owned by a big group, and we think some of that will continue."

Asked about the still-undecided name of the new bank she said: "I am absolutely sympathetic to the word Scotland."

Her words appeared to add weight to a clause written into the deal that "the management focus is to keep jobs in Scotland".

Ms Rice also suggested that some jobs would go as staff retired or left of their own accord during the three years that the merger is expected to take to complete.

But she admitted that it would be "months" before the total number of compulsory redundancies was known.

That delay will anger staff, unions and business leaders, who have called on the bosses at Lloyds TSB and HBOS to say how many jobs will be lost to put workers out of their misery and end speculation about job losses that will result from the dramatic rescue deal.

South of the border the "Scotland jobs" pledge sparked angry allegations that the banks were securing Scottish jobs at the expense of English and Welsh workers.

Critics noted that there was no similar reassurance about jobs in England and Wales, bringing accusations that workers were being used as political pawns in the run-up to the crucial Glenrothes by-election, which Labour is expected to lose.

Linda Riordan, MP for Halifax in Yorkshire, where HBOS employs around 6500 staff, was quoted as saying it was "completely unacceptable" for the organisation to favour staff at the HBOS Edinburgh headquarters.

Mr Hornby's shares windfall was defended by the bank. "Andy Hornby directly owns one million HBOS shares; he has built up his holding over many years," said a spokesman.

"As a substantial private shareholder in his own right, he has seen the same significant decline in the value of his holdings as any other shareholder. The shares that Andy Hornby holds will be treated in exactly the same way as any other HBOS shareholders under the terms of the proposed acquisition of the company by Lloyds TSB."

There was a demand to broaden the membership of the Scottish Government's Financial Sector Advisory Board.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said it was crucial to broaden the base of the board, which mainly comprises senior industry figures. "The First Minister must extend membership to all political parties and the council leaders of Scotland's two main financial centres, Edinburgh and Glasgow," he said.

"There should also be wider trade union representation, especially considering potential job losses, as well as a broaden representation from Scottish manufacturing and construction sectors."

Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott wrote to Alex Salmond offering to attend next week's meeting of the board. The offer was being made to show "strong cross-party support" for the industry, said Mr Scott.

"It would demonstrate to the finance services community that there is stable political support for them," said the LibDem leader.

"It would make crystal clear that there is a cross-party effort for Edinburgh to remain a centre of gravity in the financial world."